Rythmic Slappings

Session 2: The Lord of Lance Rock

Fel Magic

The battered adventurers were freshly back from a second foray into the untamed wilderness around Bardivik. The party returned to their rooms at the Swinging Sword Inn and immediately fell into a deep sleep. All were woken repeatedly throughout the morning by the sounds of Hastur screaming in his sleep. Urgblatt Ropebelt went to check on the bounty hunter in his room and found him composed but clearly weary. “The skull, Urgblatt….. The skull is all I see as I try to sleep,” Hastur reluctantly divulged. “The skull is maniacally laughing and says it is coming for me.” In all his years hunting the foul creatures of this world Hastur had never had an experience like this. He had always shrugged off the carnage as hazards of duty. It would hit his exterior and fall inert from there, but things had been different since his encounter in the Evermoors. He couldn’t just ignore it and move on. It was almost as if he was becoming attuned to the maleficent forces out there.

The noon sun was harsh, almost as harsh as the realization that there was truly something dark brewing around Bardivik. The party had won local renown for helping pacify the area, but it also seemed as if they had become the target of darker more sinister forces. The common area of the Swinging Sword was full of activity. Townsfolk came by to thank them for taking care of the bandits and others came through to see if they could heal rashes and warts on certain areas. Needless to say the companions were becoming known in the world, but is that a good thing in such times? A gnome with an inquisitive eye and deft hands sat eyeing the party as they came downstairs to eat. Playing with the silverware at his table, he had constructed a gravity powered Ferris wheel that had captured the attention of all the children in the room. He looked decently apportioned, but as his cloak spilled off his shoulder, Urgblatt saw a device worn by the Wardens of the Silver Horn. Why would such a device be out here, let alone be on some gnomish tinkerer? Many questions begged to be asked and needed to be answered.

Ślepy Zemsta had risen early to meet his obligations to Gaelkur Stonefist at the quarry to help with the tools. They had been of poor quality lately and those workers not supplied by Larrakh Rockholt, were becoming less effective at shaping the stone. The demand for the stone was high and early reports out of the quarry that morning was that the tools Slepy had been working with had been cutting through stone like the day they were first smithed.

The rest of the party was introduced to a deft quizzical gnome named Rutherford Fitzgerald Wizzlecrank. He had been in town looking for a member of Order of Silent Fury, but was unable to locate Slepy as he was off with the party securing the countryside. Rudy sought to make as best of use of his time as possible, and soon sought out Kaylessa Irkell to see if he could do any work for her. She had let him know about three travelers that had rented rooms in the Swinging Sword Inn and had vanished. The party began searching the rooms of the vanished tenants and deduced that perhaps some of the ill tidings could have been a result of the troubles by Lance Rock.

As the adventurers neared the site of Lance Rock, they encountered a cryptic signpost whose message filled them with trepidation. It read, “Beware Lance Rock lest you catch the disfiguring disease that got me.” It was signed Lord of Lance Rock. The compassion in the heart of Filbertina Fizzlebits over took her and she urged the group to push towards the landmark. Upon arrival they found the old parapet jutting over the foothills and an entrance to a cave below.

Venturing into the cavern they were immediately confronted with a collapsed figure clad in the robes of Ilmeter. Filbertina surged forward to render aid, but was horrified to see the monk had been transformed into a Zombie. The party sprung into action and made short work of the undead. Fighting their way through the cavern, clearing deeper into the depths the party found repeated acts of barbarism and mutilation. Finally they confronted the Lord of Lance Rock and after a protracted battle were able to defeat him.

Consolidating in his inner sanctum they found the house banner of the fallen cleric Valkyn.